An angry Portland woman criticized the city for forcing her to kick her disabled son out of her trailer while droves of homeless people are allowed to live in nearby mobile homes.
Virgie Williams, 72, is facing Portland officials who have said she must relocate the trailer to her front yard, where her oldest son, who has a disability, currently lives.
Williams revealed that her two sons and two sons have been living on her property for the past five years, with two of them crammed into the trailer and the others squeezed inside her property.
She only has 936 square feet of house on her 122nd Street lot, and according to the 72-year-old woman, it is full.
Now, the city of Portland is issuing Williams citations for violating city code related to where the trailer is placed.
‘I received a bill for $363 a month until it was gone; and they’re going to seize my house,” Williams explained to KOIN. ‘My house is all I have to give to my children when I die. I’m very afraid that they will take it away from me.’
An angry Portland woman criticized the city for forcing her to kick her disabled son out of her trailer while droves of homeless people are allowed to live in nearby mobile homes.
Virgie Williams, 72, is facing Portland officials who have said she must relocate the trailer to her front yard where her oldest son, who has a disability, currently lives.
Williams revealed that her two sons and two sons have been living on her property for the past five years, with two of them crammed into the trailer and the others squeezed inside her property.
According to city code, trailers cannot be on the street front of the house, but they can be hidden in backyards.
Her son, who has been living in the trailer for the past five years, is preparing for heart surgery in June.
Williams is barely making ends meet on Social Security and a pension, so he can’t afford the $363 monthly payments the city requires.
“It’s so stupid that I pay rent on my own property,” Williams said.
She hopes her son can continue paying the fine they are asking for so he can stay in his mobile home.
Around the corner from where Williams has lived for the past two decades, there is a whole line of dilapidated recreational vehicles parked permanently.
“I think the city should work a little harder to find a way to help the homeless and not create more,” Williams said.
She only has 936 square feet of house on her 122nd Street lot, and according to the 72-year-old woman, it is full.
Around the corner from where Williams has lived for the past two decades, there is a whole line of dilapidated recreational vehicles parked permanently.
The crowds of RVs lining Portland streets come amid the city’s devastating homeless crisis that is driving residents out of the city due to rising crime and lawlessness.
According to a 2023 census, there are more than 6,000 people living unsheltered on the streets of Portland.
Along with a dramatic increase in homelessness (65 percent increase from 2015 to 2023), there has been a dramatic increase in crime, drugs, and theft.
Portland lost its only two Walmart stores last year, along with several Starbucks locations, REI, Buffalo Wild Wings, and even an iconic Nike store.
Portland has one of the worst crime rates in the United States, with more than 63,000 property burglaries in the city over the past year, according to official police statistics.
In 2020, Portland became one of the first regions in the United States to fall for the “defund the police” movement, cutting $15 million from its budget.
The move prompted Mayor Wheeler to issue a desperate plea to renew funding for the department after it led to a disastrous rise in crime.
But two years later, as rampant crime continues to ravage the city, including a rise in homelessness and serious crimes such as homicides and robberies, authorities are again trying to stop the bleeding.
The twin task forces are expected to be bolstered with the introduction of new deputy prosecutors and investigators, who are supposedly tasked with preparing and prosecuting cases, according to Oregon live.
However, Portland residents have criticized officials for their lack of effort to prosecute criminals in recent years.
Fed up Portland residents have faced waking up to tents in their yards and seeing drug dealers on every corner as homelessness spirals out of control in Oregon’s largest city.
This follows news that Democratic lawmakers in Oregon want to decriminalize homeless encampments with a law that would allow people living in them to sue for $1,000 if they are harassed or told to leave.
The hugely controversial bill claims that “decriminalizing rest” would allow city leaders to “redirect” money from law enforcement toward measures that “address the root causes of homelessness and poverty “.
Portland saw some of the wildest unrest after George Floyd’s death, and then again on the anniversary, and things haven’t calmed down since.